STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

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F-22 Raptor Gets Owned By A Bunch Of Honey Bees

The F-22 Raptor is one of the US military’s most powerful weapons, but everything — man, woman, sentient rotted orange — has a weakness. For the fighter jet, that weakness is BEEEEEEEEEES!

In June, one of the fleet was found with a massive swarm of honey bees — as many as 20,000, according to the US Air Force, which described the incident this week — attached to its exhaust nozzle. Though some wanted to “get rid” of the bees, Tech Sgt Jeffrey Baskin decided to do the humane thing and call in the experts.

After Langley-Eustis’ resident entomologist realised he couldn’t do crap about the swarm, the base brought in Andy Westrich, a retired Navy member and a local bee keeper, who was able to remove the bees using vacuum hoses.

Westrich brought them to a brewery, where they will “maintain the honey bee colony and use the honey for their production facility”. He thinks the swarm may have landed on the F-22 because the queen got tired while flying to a new hive location.

The F-22-hating bees are in good company: In May, a swarm attacked a car in Wales after it apparently drove off with their queen. And in July, a swarm in Canada parked itself on a silver pickup truck.

Perhaps they’re trying to tell us something?

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Watch What Happens When You Try To Steal A Rolls Royce's Hood Ornament

Have you ever wondered why you don’t see people wearing Rolls Royce’s hood ornaments dangling from a necklace? It’s because the Spirit of Ecstasy, as the hood ornament is obnoxiously called, is protected by a brilliantly over-engineered mechanism that causes it to retract and disappear if tampered with.

It’s apparently a standard feature included on all of Rolls Royce’s vehicles since 2004, and presumably the hood ornament can be raised again from inside the vehicle once its rightful owner returns.

 

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A 400-Year-Old Shark May Hold The Cure To Ageing

If you’re counting on technology to radically extend your lifespan, you’ll want to pay close attention to what’s happening with the Greenland shark. According to a new scientific paper, this mysterious deep-sea dweller can live up to 400 years, making it the longest-lived vertebrate on Earth.

Let that number sink in for a minute. Four hundred years ago, a ship called the Mayflower was about to set sail for the New World. The oldest Greenland sharks alive today might have been babies when the first Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic. Or, they could have been young adults. A dating analysis of 28 female Greenland sharks, published today in Science, determined that the oldest individual lived to be somewhere between 272 and 512 years of age. Most likely, she was a ripe 390 when a research vessel accidentally hauled her up.

Even on the lower end of that scale, the Greenland shark’s impressive lifespan still blows any vertebrate contenders out of the water. The next longest-lived vertebrate, the bowhead whale, has barely crossed the two century mark.

Greenland sharks are among the most poorly studied sharks on the Earth. Found in cold, deep waters throughout the North Atlantic, these slow-growing scavenger/predators have been hauled up as bycatch for centuries and were briefly harvested for their liver oil in the early 1900s. But despite our longstanding relationship with Greenland sharks, humans know next to nothing about their population size, distribution and ecology. Norway’s conservation Red List describes the species with two simple words: “Data Deficient.”

“I think in general, people have overlooked the Greenland shark as this deep sea animal of no ecological or economic importance,” lead study author Julius Nielsen told Gizmodo. “There’s never been a scientific interest.”

A PhD student at the University of Copenhagen, Nielsen became fascinated with Greenland sharks about five years back, when one was accidentally hauled on board the scientific research vessel he was working on. “It was an amazing experience, seeing such a big animal,” he said. “I started investigating what was known about the shark, and was really surprised by how little information there was.”
To Nielsen, one of the most intriguing aspects of Greenland shark biology was the animal’s incredibly slow growth rate — less than a centimetre per year on average. While that’s a strong indicator of longevity, Greenland sharks are impossible to age by traditional methods, because they lack hard, calcified tissues that deposit in growth layers.

It was Nielsen’s adviser who devised a clever workaround: Radiocarbon dating the shark’s eyelid. This unusual structure is composed of transparent cells filled with inert, crystallised proteins. “It’s basically a dead tissue,” Neilsen said, describing how layers of glassy cells accumulate on the lid throughout the shark’s life.

Armed with a method, Nielsen and his collaborators acquired tissue samples from 28 individual sharks caught as bycatch during the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources’ annual fish surveys between 2010 and 2013. Peeling back layers of cells to access the oldest tissue, the researchers measured the abundance of carbon-14 isotopes to determine age.

Right away, they noticed something unusual: Most of the oldest tissue samples lacked the telltale carbon-14 signature of nuclear weapons testing in the 1960s, indicating that the animals were born more than 50 years ago. “We could see right from the beginning that we were dealing with something extreme,” Nielsen said.

Only the three smallest animals appeared to be born during or after the so-called “bomb spike”. Further analysis revealed that most of the sharks grew up in the 19th or early 20th century. And while it was difficult to get a precise age for the largest two individuals, suffice to say they are old as dirt: 335 ± 75 years, and 392 ± 120 years.

“The main point is that the Greenland shark is at least 272 years old, and therefore the oldest vertebrate in the world,” Neilsen said. “I think this must be the first time in human history that a person has done an age determination, ended up with a range of 240 years, and still called it a success.”

“This is one of the most innovative methods of assessing age I’ve ever seen,” said Jay Olshansky, an expert on longevity and ageing at the University of Chicago who was not involved with the study. “The story told to us by the Greenland shark adds another notch in the longevity scale, and while we’re still missing some of the details for this species, it’s not too difficult to fill in the blank spaces.”

Those “blank spaces” include age to puberty, reproductive window length and the survival rate of offspring. Since these life history attributes tend to scale predictably with lifespan, Olshansky suspects the Greenland shark has a very wide reproductive window and encounters little predation. Nielsen’s analysis, which determined that the animals do not reach sexual maturity until they’re about 150, seems to support that hypothesis.

All of this has major implications for Greenland shark conservation. As you might imagine, a species that doesn’t reproduce until it’s midway through its second century of life could be hard-hit by commercial fishing. “I don’t consider them threatened, but I do consider them vulnerable,” Neilsen said. “This definitely advocates for a precautionary approach in terms of exploitation, and for minimising by catch.”
Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International, agrees. “While scientists may continue to debate absolute longevity, it is clear that the Greenland shark is exceptionally slow growing, late to mature, and long-lived, even by shark standards,” she told Gizmodo. “As is the case for most sharks, these life history characteristics make Greenland sharks particularly susceptible to overexploitation and slow to recover once depleted.”

No doubt, these incredible animals deserve our protection in their own right. But there’s also a selfish reason for ensuring the survival of Greenland sharks: Unlocking the secrets of extreme longevity.

“This article highlights just how little science still knows about the life histories of these and other magnificent creatures,” said Kevin Perrott, a scientist at the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing and co-founder of SENS Research Foundation. “It also underlines how easy it would be to remain forever ignorant and lose this resource because of climate change and environmental damage.”

By carelessly wiping out biodiversity, Perrott added, “we run the risk of forever losing the opportunity to study organisms with insight into humanity’s most pressing medical challenge, the ageing process.”

Olshansky agrees. “Having another vertebrate living so long tells us that natural selection has successfully produced a species capable of avoiding or delaying diseases such as cancer or neurological disorders, for far longer time periods than humans are now capable of living.”

Gerontologist and anti-ageing expert Aubrey de Grey cautioned that factors contributing to the Greenland shark’s longevity may not easily translate to humans owing to the different environmental pressures the sharks have evolved under.

“We must remember that cold-blooded species, especially when living in very cold environments, have less of a problem with oxidative stress than mammals do, because the main source of free radicals in our bodies is the oxygen metabolism that we need to perform in order to keep warm,” he told Gizmodo. “Therefore, these sharks may not have any new tricks applicable to us, even though they outlive us by such a wide margin.”

“But, they may!” he added. “So we should definitely study them more.”

 

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How James Bond's New Comic Hammerhead Explores The Two Sides Of 007

When you think of James Bond, there’s two different facets that come to mind: the charming, handsome gentleman-spy, and the brutally efficient man of action. Reconciling those two sides of 007 are crucial to any great Bond story — but for writer Andy Diggle, they’re especially important for his upcoming comic miniseries Hammerhead.

Spinning out of Warren Ellis’ excellent Dynamite Comics series, Hammerhead sees Bond facing a moral dilemma of his own when he goes on the hunt for Kraken, an anti-capitalist force who’s got plans for Britain’s nuclear arsenal. But when Bond learns of a far more nefarious threat closer to home, can he trust the country he’s sworn loyalty to? Can he be the killer they need him to be, in an era when the lines between ally and enemy are blurrier than ever?

We spoke to Diggle about his approach to writing Bond, and what makes the character so compelling over 60 years since he first appeared, and you can read the whole interview below — alongside some unlettered pages from the first issue of Hammerhead, making their debut here on io9.

How did you get involved with writing this series?
Andy Diggle: Nick Barrucci at Dynamite had initially approached me back in 2014. I was flattered, but had too much going on at the time. Fortunately he was happy to wait ’til my schedule cleared up a little, and I’m grateful that he did. I’m having a blast!

Is there a particular version of Bond that has a special place in your heart?

Diggle: It has to be Connery, doesn’t it? Inimitable charisma. And while it can be helpful to see — or more importantly, hear — an actor in your mind when you’re writing, you don’t want that to make it to the finished comic page. The comic has to be its own thing. And of course we’re drawing inspiration more from Ian Fleming’s original character than from the various screen incarnations.

Tell us a little bit about the setup for Hammerhead.

Diggle: It begins with Bond assigned to hunt down “Kraken,” a radical anti-capitalist who has targeted the defence contractor replacing Britain’s ageing Trident nukes. Needless to say, things get a little more complicated. The wider story is about Britain’s place in the post-Cold War, post-Brexit world. Are we still a global power? Do we even need nuclear weapons? Is 007 a force for positive change, or a protector of vested interests?

Hammerhead is the name of a high-tech weapons system Britain is selling to allies with less-than-stellar human rights records. The question is, do the ends justify the means? The Cold War made that kind of moral evaluation much simpler — the Soviet Union and SMERSH were the enemy. Nowadays, Bond has to navigate a moral maze where even allies spy on each other.

How did you approach taking Warren Ellis’ interpretation of Bond and making it into your own for Hammerhead?

Diggle: The character is bigger than any one writer, and I’m not trying to mimic anyone’s style. This is my Bond. Detached, professional, ironic. A man who doesn’t particularly enjoy the dirty work, but puts his life on the line because it because he believes in the greater good. Of course, it isn’t always easy to see which way the greater good lies, and I think Bond is somewhat fatalistic about that. You play the hand you’re dealt.

Were there any particular elements from Fleming’s work that you wanted to draw upon for Hammerhead, or any challenges you wanted to tackle in bringing Bond to life?

Diggle: Fleming’s Bond is a sophisticate, educated at elite institutions like Eton and Fettes, and unashamedly enjoys the finer things in life. It’s tricky, because I’m not sure how well a 100% book-faithful version would work in monthly comics. Fleming might devote a whole section to describing a meal, or a game of cards or golf, but that wouldn’t work so well in a 22-page comic. It’s a visual medium, stories told in monthly chapters, so readers have reason to expect a certain amount of bang for their buck. My job is to strike the right balance between keeping the story cracking along while still allowing Bond to be Bond, giving him room to breathe.

We’ve chosen not to give him an interior monologue, so we’re not privy to his moral and philosophical musings the way we are in the novels. So you have to imply what’s going on in Bond’s head through action and gesture and facial expression alone – brought to life in Luca Casalanguida’s wonderfully expressive artwork – and let the readers fill in the blanks themselves. That’s one of comics greatest assets, by the way – that participatory relationship with the reader.

So to answer your question, one of the things I’d like to salvage from the novels is a glimpse of Bond’s moral center. That part of him that feels outrage at the murder of innocents, and drives him to risk his life to punish those responsible. He isn’t just following orders. It’s almost too easy to focus on Bond as a cold-hearted killer but lose sight of the fact that he regularly puts his life on the line for the greater good. So is he a hero or an assassin? The answer, of course, is both.

What do you think it is about this particular version of the character that makes him stand out from past interpretations?

Diggle: I think that’s for other people to judge. I’m not trying to make him different just for the sake of being different. I’m just writing the James Bond that feels right to me.

What’s that process of working with Luca Casalanguida been like?

Diggle: I’m very happy to be working with Luca. I first became aware of his work last year when he sent me some wonderfully noir Batman sample pages. I was impressed, and jumped at the chance to bring him on board for Bond. He has a very fluid, European style which I think is a great fit for the character, and I love the shadowy, chiaroscuro feel; heavy black ink. It feels like a comic book, in the best way.

As a writer who’s now adding stories to the wider Bond universe, what do you think it is about the character that makes him so appealing today, all these years after he first appeared?

Diggle: There’s always been a large measure of masculine wish-fulfillment to the character, and I think you have to embrace that without being regressive. Like all true icons, Bond is reinvented for each new generation, while still remaining true to the core of the original character. It’s about striking a balance.

To an extent he can be an even more compelling character in the present day than he was during the Cold War. We live in a confusing, fast-paced world of shifting allegiances and moral compromises; it can feel overwhelming. But James Bond cuts through all that with clear-eyed decisiveness. He knows the stakes, he knows what he has to do, and he knows what’s getting in his way. There’s an unashamed pleasure in sitting back and watching him do his thing. I’m having a lot of fun contrasting Bond the well-spoken gentleman with Bond the ruthless man of action. I think that contrast lies at the core of his appeal.

James Bond 007: Hammerhead #1 hits shelves this October.

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THIS MIGHT JUST BE THE MOST ORNATE WATCH YOU'LL EVER SEE

The historic Kennin-ji Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan is an incredible 814 years old. Back in 2002 it celebrated its 800th anniversary having been a place of peace, calm and reflection for 8 centuries. At the time visual artist Koizumi Junsaku was commissioned to commemorate the landmark event by painting a pair of stunning dragons onto the ceiling of the Dharma Hall. The dragons with all their power and poise are still there today, watching over and protecting those below.

 

To pay tribute to both the temple and Junsaku's dragons, Swiss watch-maker Speake-Marin was commissioned by an experienced and wealthy collector to replicate the dragons into a wristwatch. Known as the 'Kennin Ji Temple Masters Project' due to the sheer complexity of the task, four master watchmakers were enlisted to bring the watch and project to life.

The owner Peter Speake-Marin was responsible for he in-house SM2 movement beating beneath the dragons on the dial, whilst the 3 other individuals worked to engrave different elements on the watch. From the dial and case to the SM2 movement and even the final leather presentation case.

"This is the most extraordinary engraving project I've ever been involved with due to the complexity of the subject (two dragons instead of one), the incredible detail of the engravings and the fact that it isn't just one component that's engraved, but the designs cover practically the whole watch."explains Peter Speake-Marin

The ornate and beautiful engraving isn't merely restricted to the top and sides of the watch, the movement has also been painstakingly engraved too. The final piece is a tribute to the craftsmanship of Speake-Marin but also an extraordinary reminder of the enduring and almost mystical quality of the Kennin-ji Zen Buddhist temple.

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Darth Vader Returns in the New Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer

Remember that last Star Wars film? All the joy of BB-8 and seeing the old gang again? Well this is NOT that. Take a look at what's going to be a far more gritty installment to the universe, where a certain Darth Vader looms at large.

 

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Kylo Ren Loses It While Watching The Rogue One Trailer

You’d think Kylo Ren would be happy to see his grandfather once again on the big screen, but that’s not the case in his latest reaction video to the new Rogue One trailer.

The video was created by the Auralnauts over on YouTube, who already have riffed on our misunderstood villain in other videos. So far, the group has done a pretty good job, perfectly merging Adam Driver’s deadpan delivery in both the actual Star Wars film and in his Undercover Boss turn from Saturday Night Live earlier this year.

Ren focuses on what you’d expect — the Death Star (“this is what power looks like. Angles, and spheres, and… windows.”), Donnie Yen, who strikes well with a large stick, and the battle at Hoth.

Of course, when we get the Darth Vader cameo, he goes a bit ballistic, but in typical Kylo Ren fashion. It’s what you’d expect, but it’s still a fun time. It at least shows off my favourite interpretation of Kylo, which highlights his awkwardness of being in a leader position and his bottling up of feelings.

 

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Kenny Baker, The Actor Who Brought R2-D2 To Life, Dies At 81

Kenny Baker, the man who played R2-D2 in the Star Wars films has died at the age of 81, after battling a long illness.

As reported by The Guardian, Baker first became famous in 1977 for playing the lovable robot in Star Wars IV: A New Hope. Even though he was a robot, R2-D2 quickly became one of the most, well, human characters in the films. Baker, who was less than four feet tall, reprised the character in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and all the prequel films.

Baker even returned for The Force Awakens as a consultant, despite his ailing health. While he appeared at a European red carpet for the film, he wasn’t able to attend the premiere in LA. His niece, Abigail Shield, said Baker was luckily able to see George Lucas when he visited Manchester.

Baker is also known for appearances in beloved 80s films like Time Bandits and Flash Gordon.

Shield told The Guardian, “It was expected, but it’s sad nonetheless. He had a very long and fulfilled life. He brought lots of happiness to people and we’ll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world. We’re all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime.”

Star Wars alumni and other in the fandom have started sharing their condolences over Baker’s passing, including Mark Hamill, Ewan McGregor and Industrial Light and Magic.

 

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Watch Shoppers Freak Out At Talking Groceries Prank

Seth Rogen’s new animated film, Sausage Party, features supermarkets filled with produce that not only talk, but also have feelings — about being eaten alive. To see how real people would react to sentient produce, the comedian filled a supermarket with talking produce and cameras.

 

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Double-Sided Strap Lets You Hide Your Apple Watch Shame Under A Nicer Timepiece

Like a horological version of a mullet, watchmaker Sinn has created something it calls the Dual Strap System allowing someone to wear both a traditional watch, and the Apple Watch, at the same time. It’s business up front with the analogue timepiece, and a party in the back with all of the added smartwatch functionality.

The system relies on what essentially looks like shortened straps attached to both the Apple Watch (both sizes are supported) and a secondary time piece — each with their own buckle.

Using it of course requires you to turn your wrist whenever you want to access or see the Apple Watch’s display. If for some reason you wanted your smartwatch front and centre, you can always hide your traditional timepiece on the underside, but that somewhat defeats the purpose of this system.

The Dual Strap System can also be used with just a single watch, requiring the use of a simple extension that wraps around your wrist. But it’s far from a cheap solution to the problem of deciding which watch to get. When bought alongside one of Sinn’s watches, the Dual Strap System is an extra $US120 ($157). When bought by itself, however, for use with watches already in your collection, it’s a hefty $US210 ($274). You should probably just reach for the duct tape and save yourself a fortune.

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Truly Savage Thief Chops Down Tree To Steal A Bike

This dude is crazy and awful and screwed up but also bold and daring and a freaking total savage. Armed with a handsaw and a sociopathic personality, he literally chopped down a tree in order to steal a bike. A tree no longer exists because this guy saw a bike locked up to it and thought it’d be easy money to get. Some poor sap is now without their bike because this mad man thought sawing through a tree trunk was easier than breaking a bike lock.

Although it’s pretty early in the morning, he’s doing it in daylight too. The surveillance video was taken in Changsha in central China’s Hunan province. You can see him throw the bicycle on his motorbike and speed away in the video after the tree fell.

 

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TAG HEUER ELECTRIC LONGBOARD

Sometimes all it takes is a little innovation from a college student to take an existing product or idea and completely change the landscape in which it exists. Such is the case with Geun Pack, a student at Hongik University on Sejong University’s campus in Seoul, South Korea. His project, the Tag Heuer Board, is merely a prototype at this point, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream right?

Aesthetically the electric board hosts a classy yet modern combination of matte black carbon fiber with rose gold trimmings around the deck and wheels. It’s built for the commute, although it may function well as a means for getting people to their destinations a tad early seeing how it can reach speeds up to 60mph. It can get up to 35 miles between charges and comes with a remote control featuring an LED interface that allows each rider to easily maintain speed and manage the brakes thanks to the remote’s ergonomic thumb wheel. And when the board is not in use, riders can store the remote on the deck in a built-in compartment. Not bad for a graduation project. [YankoDesign]

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ESPOLON ANEJO TEQUILA

Tequila fans already know that a extra añejo spends more time aging than other tequilas. But while most are aged for only two or three years, Espolòn Añejo X Tequila ages for six full years — giving it an extra level of flavor and complexity. Made from 100% Weber Blue Agave, it's bottled in this handmade jet black matte glass bottle that pays tribute to the Mexican celebration known as "The Day of the Dead." Available at 82 proof in very limited quantities.

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Mysterious ‘Man-Like Creature’ Filmed in Portuguese Desert

Chupacabra! Bigfoot! Portuguese Man o’ Worf! (half man, half Klingon?) Whatever it was, those are just some of the things being yelled (Portuguese Man o’ Worf was mine) after seeing a mysterious ‘man-like creature’ (or more likely, a video of one) allegedly walking across a desert in Portugal. What is it?

There are a number of puzzling aspects to this story. The original video was said to have been uploaded to the Internet a month ago but the date of the sighting is not specified anywhere. Although it’s supposedly been posted for a month and has “200,000” views, the only videos that pop up are all less than a week old.

The videos generally refer to the creature as a “Chupacabra.” This is odd since it moves very slowly, is not carrying a dead, bloodless goat and is not in Central or South America. (It’s lack of resemblance to a sick dog eliminates it from being a Texas Chupacabra as well). There don’t seem to be any other sightings, recent or otherwise, of a Chupacabra in Portugal.

A few comments suggest it looks more like a Bigfoot or Yeti. That would seem more likely, especially since there’s one report of giant humanoid sightings in Montargil, Ponte do Sor, Portugal, in 1980. However, the witness described the humanoids as being 8-feet tall and wearing gray suits, making them more alien than Yeti or Bigfoot, neither of which is known for their taste in clothes.

Portugal did have one other misplaced cryptid sighting recently. In 2014, a man in Almada reporting seeing an Ahool flying overhead. This large bat-like or winged primate creature is more often seen in Indonesia, so it was also out of place in Portugal and no other sightings were reported.

Then there’s the location. The video and reports refer to the creature being seen in a desert. The only known desert in Portugal is not on the mainland but on the archipelago of Madeira – an Autonomous Region of Portugal located in the north Atlantic 1,000 km (540 mi) from the continent. Madeira has a number of endemic species, including a native bat and a hand-sized tarantula. A Yeti-like creature could possibly find plenty of places to hide there.

Except … the limited reports make no mention of Madeira, just a “Portuguese desert.”

As in most cases, the video quality is poor, leading many to speculate it’s a fraud.

So, what is it? If it’s on Madeira, it could be some long-hidden creature. If it’s on the mainland, it could be the return of a smaller clothing-optional cousin of the 8-foot humanoids. If it’s not seen again, it could be a fraud.

Or something else? I’m sticking with Portuguese Man o’ Worf.

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Bizarre Fish With Human-Like Teeth Found Throughout Michigan

In this week’s bizarre animal news, a strange fish has been turning up in lakes across Michigan that has residents baffled. The fish is Piaractus brachypomus, or the red-bellied Pacu. The strange freshwater fish is native to the Amazonian waters of South America and is omnivorous; unlike its carnivorous piranha cousins, the diets of wild Pacu fish are mostly vegetarian.

Photographs of the fish baring its creepy human-like teeth have recently surfaced on social media, shocking Michigan residents amid fears of some new aquatic monster inhabiting local waters. Luckily for them, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources issued a press release assuring residents that they have nothing to fear from the creepy fish, as it probably won’t survive the brutal Michigan winter:

Pacus have been caught in lakes, ponds or creeks in at least 27 U.S. states. However, there is no evidence that breeding populations have been established in any of these locations. Current climate data indicate this tropical, freshwater fish is unlikely to survive Great Lakes winters, but climate change may increase the possibility.  

The fish are thought to have been introduced to Michigan’s waters by aquarium owners who abandoned the Pacu fish as they grew or began eating other fish.

Nick Popoff, manager of the Michigan DNR’s Aquatic Species and Regulatory Affairs Unit, stated in the DNR press release that the fish, while seemingly a harmless pet, could potentially upset Michigan’s aquatic ecosystems:

Those that do succeed in the wild can spread exotic diseases to native animals. In the worst-case scenario, released animals can thrive and reproduce, upsetting natural ecosystems to the degree that these former pets become invasive species. Invasive or not – planting fish of any kind in the waters of the state without a permit is illegal. This includes the release of aquarium fish like pacus and goldfish, as well as farm-raised fish from private ponds.

Thus, the Pacu joins the ranks of anthropogenically-introduced invasive species alongside sewer alligators and Florida’s Burmese Pythons. Luckily, the Pacu isn’t presently believed to pose much of a threat to other native species.

In 2013, the creepy Pacu made headlines when a Danish fisherman caught a Pacu and claimed it to be some kind of monster “testicle-eating fish.” Fortunately for men everywhere, these claims have never been substantiated.

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More Sketchy Evidence For Fabled Nazi Gold Train Reignites The Hunt

In the bowels of the Owl Mountains near Wałbrych, Poland, legend tells of a hidden train, armed to the teeth and packed with up to 300 tonnes of Nazi gold. According to geologists, it isn’t there. According to historians, it may not exist. But naysayers haven’t deterred treasure hunters from setting out in search of the train and its fabled riches once more.

Today, a handful of volunteers led by gold-diggers Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper began excavating dirt along railroad tracks above the purported site of buried treasure from the dying days of the Third Reich. Richter and Koper electrified the public imagination last autumn, when they announced they’d discovered evidence of a train which, according to legend, entered the Owl Mountains in 1945 bound for a secret, unfinished Nazi project called “Riese”.

That claim was swiftly rebuked by Polish geologists, who rescanned the area with magnetic field detectors, thermal imaging cameras and radar, and found nothing suspicious. Undeterred, Richter and Koper hired a half a dozen companies to conduct independent analyses of the site. According to a spokesperson for the excavation team, each of these companies detected curious anomalies in the ground, possibly indicating railroad tracks running along a hidden tunnel.

For Richter and Koper, it was enough of a lead to press on with the search. It’s worth noting that the historical existence of Project Riese has never been proven, while even the most top-secret Nazi projects have some documentation. According to the Associated Press, the local legend appears to stem from a retired miner who heard a rumour from a German guy in the 1970s. It’s all a bit shady and dubious — but one way or another, it seems like the answers are coming.

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Six Million Americans Have This Toxic Chemical In Their Drinking Water

You might want to reconsider drinking the water next time you visit the States: A new Harvard study has found that six million Americans drink water containing unsafe levels of obscure industrial pollutants associated with cancer and other severe health consequences.

The chemicals, called polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), repel both oil and water and are used in a wide range of commercial products, from paint to clothing to nonstick cookware. Although the entire family of PFASs is poorly studied, two of them — perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — are linked to health problems including high cholesterol, immune deficiency, hormone disruption, kidney and testicular cancer.

“These compounds are not regulated,” Xindi Hu, lead author of the study published today in Environmental Science & Technology Letters told Gizmodo. “We are looking at a big family, and the EPA only monitors a few of them.”

To understand the distribution of these harmful toxins in the environment, Hu and her colleagues analysed EPA data on six PFAS compounds that are actively monitored across 4864 water supplies in 33 US states. Overall, the researchers found elevated PFAS levels in 194 water supplies. Of these, 66 water supplies contained levels of PFOS and PFOA exceeding the EPA safe drinking limit of 70 parts per trillion.

Newark, New Jersey’s water supply was one of the most contaminated, with a whopping 1800 parts per trillion of dangerous PFAS compounds. Warminster, Pennsylvania was also in pretty bad shape, with PFAS levels of nearly 350 parts per trillion. In total, the PFAS-contaminated water supplies evaluated in the study serve six million Americans.

Hu’s analysis revealed that water supplies near industrial sites, military bases where firefighting foam is used and wastewater treatment plants were more likely to be contaminated. But broader geographic patterns were pretty sketchy, owing in part to the fact that nearly a third of the US population drinks water with no government PFAS data whatsoever.

“We are trying to help the EPA identify areas for future study, where data is lacking,” Hu said. “If this dataset was nationwide, that could allow more detailed recommendations in individual areas.”

Hu and her co-authors are continuing to study the long-term health effects of PFAS exposure. Another Harvard-led study, published last week in Environmental Health Perspectives, found that individuals from the Faroe islands who were exposed to PFAS compounds at a young age built up fewer antibodies to tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, suggesting long-term exposure can impair the development of a healthy immune system.

While the EPA continues to wrestle with how to implement long-overdue regulations for industrial pollutants, it has started issuing health advisories on a state and local level, prompting some communities to warn their residents off the water until a solution can be found. Unfortunately, most off-the-shelf household filters are not effective at removing PFAS chemicals, although activated carbon filters and reverse osmosis methods show potential, Hu said.

“I’d first encourage concerned citizens to talk to their local health department, to figure whether the level [of PFAS compounds] is very high,” Hu said. “People have a right to know what’s in their drinking water.”

[MIKA27]

YAMAHA YAS-106 SOUND BAR

I've talked about it in the office and I don’t think I know anyone who has been really happy with their stock television speakers. At best, people seem to just maybe not mind the mediocre sound that comes out of the speakers. At worst? Well, we’d probably best not repeat opinions verbatim. For those who are looking to upgrade their home theater setup and better experience everything the world of on-screen entertainment provides, there is the Yamaha YAS-106 Sound Bar.

What stands out the most about this sound bar is the fact that it doesn’t. It has a sleek look and fits easily onto your wall or sits discreetly on your furniture depending on how you want to set it up. Don’t let the lack of physical heft fool you. Like the Noah’s Ark of audio equipment, this thing features two subwoofers, two woofers, and two tweeters all arranged to give you the maximum quality of sound. To top it all off, this bar is easily compatible with HDMI, can support 4K signal pass through, and can be controlled via remote or Bluetooth device. Prices set at $200.

[MIKA27]

Jack Daniel’s Personal Collection Lets You Select Your Own Barrel of Whiskey

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Collection is rolling out a Personal Collection that lets you select your very own barrel of the good stuff. Not an individually selected and customized bottle, an entire barrel—which, for the record yields an average of 252 750ml bottles. What makes it so special? Only the barrels exposed to the most extreme temperatures at the top of the warehouse—which is what creates the most flavor and color within the whiskey—will be set aside for the Personal Collection due to their individual personality and characteristics.

When it comes to selecting the barrel you want to put your name on, you can have it selected by the master distiller, get samples based on your flavor profile or just travel to Lynchburg and pick it out with the team. In addition to the barrel itself, you’ll get certificates, a personal bottle, luxury decanter, glassware and recognition in the Barrel Recognition Room in Lynchburg.

[MIKA27]

GROVEMADE WOODEN SPEAKER SYSTEM

Created in collaboration with industrial designer Joey Roth, the Grovemade Wooden Speaker System uses its natural material to full effect. Each set's enclosures are crafted one at a time in Portland using CNC machining and hand forming, leaving the interior without any parallel walls or flat surfaces, eliminating distortion. The 2-inch full-range drivers benefit further from the back-loaded horn, as well as the 2x25W amplifier. Each shell is finished with two coats of natural oil and set atop a leather stainless steel stand. Available in maple or walnut.

 

[MIKA27]

L'ENVOL DE CARTIER COLOGNE

As the first new men's fragrance from the French fashion brand in eight years, you'd expect L'Envol De Cartier Cologne to smell great. And it does, with an ambrosia-inspired mix of wood, honey, patchouli, and musk that's both sophisticated and subtle. But it's the bottle that might be its most notable advancement. The scent is held in a bulb that sits inside a outer glass bell, letting the liquid shine like honey, and enabling it to be refilled, unlike most store-bought colognes.

[MIKA27]

DALI KATCH PORTABLE SPEAKER

Known for their high-end loudspeakers, Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries is ready to take their show on the road with the Dali Katch Portable Speaker. Its body is made from extruded aluminum, and holds a 2 x 18W Class-D amplifier powering a pair 21mm soft-dome tweeters and dual 3.5-inch aluminum woofer. One of each is aimed out the front and out the back, and the speaker has built-in profiles to optimize the sound whether the speaker is in the middle of a room or up against a wall. It connects over Bluetooth 4.0, has Apt-X support for cleaner audio, runs for up to 24 hours per charge, and has a built-in sliding leather strap for maximum portability.

[MIKA27]

After Justice League, Cyborg Will Join The Flash

In November 2017’s Justice League, fans will be introduced to Ezra Miller’s Flash and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg. Four months later, the two will team up again for Flash’s solo movie.

Variety reports that Fisher’s character will appear in The Flash, which is being directed by Rick Famuyiwa. This comes as no surprise to anyone who followed those Justice League set visits from earlier this summer. Fisher and Miller were buddy buddy on the set, and in the scene that was being filmed. Read about it here.

Miller’s Flash can currently be seen in theaters, as he has a brief scene in Suicide Squad. Both his and Miller’s characters were first introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Justice League will be the first time each gets a full, fleshed-out story however.

The Flash, which co-stars Kiersey Clemons, opens March 16, 2018.

[MIKA27]

Get Your First Full, Creepy Look at It's New Pennywise

We’ve already had an up-close look at Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise the Clown from the new It, but now you can see the suitably chilling body that sinister face is attached to. 

The full costume was revealed this morning by Entertainment Weekly, and shows that Andy Muschietti’s new take on the classic Stephen King tale is adopting a more traditional clown look for Pennywise, rather than the garish color scheme of the 1990 adaptation.

Costume designer Janie Bryant says that the traditional clown look is meant to make Pennywise look almost child-like, which just makes his child-murdering even creepier—which is definitely saying something, considering a sinister kid-murdering clown is already pretty much maximum-creepy:

There is almost a doll-like quality to the costume: The pants being short, the high waistline of the jacket, and the fit of the costume is a very important element. It gives the character a child-like quality.

Bryant also says that Skarsgård’s Pennywise is “almost like a shadow,” choosing to hide and strike out at his victims rather than luring them in with his brightly colored appearance—which makes sense, given the muted tones of this costume. We’ll be seeing Pennywise slink into action when It hits theaters September 8th.

[MIKA27]

World's Largest Aircraft Takes Off For The First Time, Still Looks Like A Butt

The Airlander 10 — also known as the world’s largest aircraft, better known as a giant, arse-shaped vessel — took off for the first time today.

The “flying bum”, as it’s apparently known, was supposed to take its maiden voyage on Sunday, but the flight was postponed due to “a slight technical issue”. The aircraft’s maker, Hybrid Air Vehicles, didn’t say on Sunday when the flight would happen, but luckily for arse and aircraft enthusiasts everywhere, it finally took off from Cardington airfield near London.

The flight itself wasn’t long — just half an hour, according to the AP — but apparently drew a crowd of hundreds. The 92m aircraft combines elements of “fixed wing aircraft and helicopters with lighter-than-air technology”, resulting in a Frankenstein-esque behemoth that its creators say can stay in the air for over two weeks unmanned.

The AP says the Airlander 10 was originally created for the US military, which wanted to use it “for surveillance in Afghanistan”, but the plan was axed in 2013. (It’s hard to miss a giant butt.)

Unlike other notable aircrafts — like, say, the Hindenburg — the Airlander 10 uses helium to stay afloat. According to Hybrid Air Vehicles, it can also withstand “numerous bullet holes” and operate “in all weather conditions”. As Gizmodo previously reported, it could theoretically be used for academic research, transportation or as a way to bring material to remote locations.